Five criminals with 243 previous offences between them sentenced for Sussex-wide crime spree

Five criminals with 243 previous offences between them have been sentenced for a Sussex-wide crime spree.

At Hove Crown Court on Thursday, Eli Cooper, 31, from South Coast Road, Peacehaven, Dean Cooper, 32, from Westway, Wick, Tony Cooper, 26, from Selsfield Drive, Brighton, and Robert and Katrina Smart, from Kingsway, Hove, were sentenced for a string of offences across the county.

All five were sentenced to a counterfeit money scheme which they ran at railway stations across West Sussex. Click here to read more.

Tony and Eli were also involved in a police pursuit in Crawley where they drove a stolen trailer more than 70mph in a 30mph zone and allegedly tried to ‘ram’ the car down the road. Click here to read more.

In total, Eli was guilty of two counts of tendering counterfeit currency, two counts of burglary, one count of theft, one count of dangerous driving, one count of assault by beating and one count of attempted theft.

Judge David Rennie sentenced him to a two-year community order, with a nine-month drug rehabilitation requirement and a 20-day rehabilitation activity requirement. He has to go on a thinking skills programme, and was disqualified from driving for 18 months.

Tony was guilty of having custody or control of counterfeit currency, theft, aiding and abetting dangerous driving and burglary.

He was sentenced to 21 months in prison, suspended for two years, a 20-day rehabilitation activity requirement, a nine-month drug rehabilitation requirement, and was disqualified from driving for 18 months.

Dean was guilty of tendering counterfeit currency and having custody or control of counterfeit currency. He was sentenced to 12 months in prison, suspended for 18 months, with 160 days of unpaid work and a 25-day rehabilitation activity requirement.

Robert and Katrina Smart were both guilty of having custody or control of counterfeit currency.

Robert was sentenced to 12 months in prison, suspended for 18 months, with 160 hours of unpaid work, and Katrina was given a nine-month prison sentence, suspended for 18 months, with a 20-day rehabilitation activity requirement.